


Every Sunrise, Ever After

by SerStolas



Series: Alik Shepard [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Destroy Ending, Happy Ending, M/M, N7 Day, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 18:05:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8499847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerStolas/pseuds/SerStolas
Summary: Months after the Normandy crash landed, a heartbroken Kaidan returns to Earth, believing his boyfriend Alik Shepard is dead.  But there's a happy ending waiting for him at Sunrise.
Written in honor of N7 day.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Every Sunrise, Ever After  
> A Mass Effect Fan Fic  
> Pairing: Kaidan Alenko/MShep  
> Post ME3, Destroy Ending  
> Disclaimer: Bioware owns Mass Effect. I'm just playing with their shiny toys.

Kaidan lay on his side, staring across the expanse of the empty bed he’d shared with Shepard, at the shattered fish tank on the other side of the wall, no longer emitting the blue glow it had the last time he and Shepard had been in this bed, this cabin, together. 

Everything had been about getting the ship repaired enough to limp home, keeping the injured treated, keeping everyone going, since the Normandy had crashlanded in this planet. It had taken them almost three months to get the Normandy into any condition to fly, and another five to limp back towards the Sol system without the aid of the mass relays. They’d only just managed to get back in contact last week.

The broken remains of the Citadel were a priority for all races, as a symbol of their united front, though Kaidan knew there was bickering among the remaining council members. He’d heard from Hackett that back on earth the recovery efforts were under way, but everything was slow, with resources and tempers strained.

At least the galaxy had survived, but Shepard hadn’t.

Kaidan turned his head into the pillow as he felt the tears ago. He missed Alik so much. On the jungle planet, he’d been able to bury his grief most days in work, but the trip back towards the Sol system had been agony. Losing Alik Shepard once had been bad enough, but now to have lost him when they were really looking forward to a future together?

No one had questioned his presence in the captain’s cabin. He was in command of the Normandy right now with Shepard MIA, presumed KIA, and no one wanted to take from Kaidan one of the few connections to Shepard he had left. 

“Major, three hours out from Earth,” Joker’s voice came over the comm.

Kaidan sighed and forced himself to sit up. He wasn’t the only one who’d lost someone in this war. Edi’s mobile platform current sat silent in the chair next to Joker in the cockpit, as if the pilot couldn’t bare to let go of her, even if she was no longer functioning. Kaidan didn’t blame him in the least. He pulled the dog tags out of his shirt and ran his fingers over Shepard’s. They’d exchanged dog tags during the Battle of London, a promise for a future they’d never get.

“Thanks Joker,” Kaidan replied, knowing the comm was still opening. “Hopefully we can get more answers back on earth.”

“I hope so,” he heard Joker’s soft reply. He knew that Tali had been working on Edi since they’d started their journey home. She’d managed to salvage some backup files, but was having difficulty integrating them with the mobile platform. 

Kaidan headed for the CIC to check in with the rest of the crew.

~~  
Kaidan didn’t know if the brass was sadistic or just desperate. Within an hour of landing on earth, Kaidan had been pulled into briefings by both Alliance brass and then the Citadel Council. The Council currently resided here on earth until the Citadel was repaired enough for them to adjourn there. He didn’t know if that was fortunate or not.  
He was running on four hours of sleep and had just spent the past nine hours in briefings. Now he was just exhausted. He wanted to get something to eat, take a shower in the makeshift facilities on base, and sleep. He forced himself to bring up his omni-tool though and sent a message to the Normandy crew, asking them to send a message and let him know they were all alright.

Messages pinged across the screen. Garrus and Tali were in the Turian section of the base talking with the Turian councilor now. Cortez and Samantha were getting food. Liara and Javik were dealing with put out Asari. Ken and Abby were bunking down for now and trying to get some rest. He frowned a little as the message from James Vega came across as “URGENT.” 

Kaidan flipped the message over and was surprised to find a voice message playing over his omni-tool, Vega’s voice full of barely suppressed excitement, and was that…Jack in the background?

“Major, as soon as you get this, come to the hospital on Base, you’ve gotta see this!”

“Hurry up Biotic Booty,” Jack’s voice followed. “This’ll be good, I promise.”

The urgency and weird sense of excitement in their voices had Kaidan jogging towards the nearest ground shuttle and asking for a ride to the hospital. The driver gave him an odd look but didn’t argue, turning the shuttle in the direction of the hospital and rolling over the rough, barely paved remains of the road that headed in that direction.

Vega and Jack were both waiting for him at the entrance, and any other time he’d wonder about the stance the two of them took, how close they were standing together. Right now though, mind foggy with exhaustion and wondering what was so important, he didn’t resist when Jack grabbed his arm and started pulling him through the hospital.

“Where are we going?” he asked as he finally caught up mentally and pulled his hand back, almost jogging after Jack and Vega through the hospital halls.

“Something you’ve gotta see,” Jack replied cryptically.

He recognized a long term hospital ward as they entered another wing. The nurse actually smiled at Vega and Jack as the two of them lead him down a hall. Vega was reading off room numbers aloud until they reached the one he wanted and he opened the door.

Once again Jack grabbed Kaidan’s hand and all but dragged him into the room. A nurse inside looked up in surprise, then a brief smile creased her face when she saw Jack and Vega.

“Lt. Vega, Ms. Nought, good to see you again.” The nurse paused and gave Kaidan a look in askance. “This is?”

“Major Alenko, Systems Alliance,” Kaidan replied, stepping forward.

The nurse smiled even more broadly and it threw Kaidan off balance a bit. The woman stepped aside then. “Someone’s been waiting for you, Major Alenko,” she said encouragingly.

Kaidan felt his heart in his mouth as he approached the bed. There, beneath wires and tubes and tape, sleeping more peacefully than Kaidan had seen the entire war, was a very familiar face indeed.

“Alik…” his voice almost broke as he spoke his boyfriend’s name. He looked up at the nurse. “Commander Alik Shepard.”

The nurse nodded, still smiling, though he could see her eyes looked a bit misty. “Yes. He was found a few days after the Crucible was fired, buried under rubble. He’s been sitting here for months, unidentified. The tags he wore were too melted to get an ID. Then we were wheeling him out of surgery a week ago when Ms. Nought here,” she nodded at Jack, “Was in the hospital visiting another patient.” The nurse chuckled. “Her reaction was a bit…animated.”

“You say it so nicely,” Jack said with a bark of laughter. “Damn near lost my mind when I realized Shepard was on the hospital bed. Think I scared one of the doctors.”

“You might have,” the nurse replied serenely, “but you solved a months long mystery.” The nurse pulled up her tablet and tapped through a few screens. “And now that we’ve got him identified, we were able to find his records. He has you listed as next of kin, Major Alenko.” She nodded towards a chair against one wall. “Why don’t you have a seat. He hasn’t awoken yet, but the doctors think he will within the next few weeks, hopefully.”

Kaidan could only nod, and the nurse left the three of them alone in the room with Alik. 

“Thank you, Jack,” he said, glancing at the crazy biotic woman. “This means…everything.”

“Yeah well just remember to invite me to the wedding,” Jack replied, but her tone wasn’t unkind. “Come on Muscles, lets leave Alenko here with Shepard, I think they need some time together.”

She grabbed the tattooed marine by the arm and hauled him off, and he looked like he was going willingly.

Kaidan pulled the chair up to the hospital bed and sat down, feeling relief fill him as he took Shepard’s hand, the one without an IV taped to it, and squeezed his boyfriend’s fingers. Eight months of sorrow washed away, knowing Shepard was alive. And unlike Horizon, there were no accusing words this time. No, there was nothing but unmitigated joy.

Kaidan spent every moment he could with Shepard. He still had to leave the room on an almost daily basis for meetings, but as soon as they were over he hurried back. Days ticked by, but Kaidan refused to give up hope. He was with Shepard again, and Shepard would wake up, the doctors kept telling him that. Some days he couldn’t tell if they were lying or not, but he chose to accept the words at face value.

~~

Kaidan had been coming to the hospital for nearly two weeks now, every day. Other members of the Normandy crew had stopped by and sat with Kaidan and Shepard for a bit, brought Kaidan a decent dinner every night, knowing that if he wasn’t in meetings or showering, he was going to be here. Jack dug up a cot somewhere and dragged it into the room so Kaidan could actually get some rest.  
It was almost 04:00 hours on the eleventh morning since the Normandy had returned to earth. Kaidan was asleep, laying on his side on the cot with his arm stretched between the cot and bed, holding Shepard’s hand in his own.

Alik’s baby blues opened slowly and he stared at the darkened room ceiling, disoriented for a moment. He was in pain, but it was manageable, and realized there was an IV taped to his hand and he was hooked up to a variety of monitors. A hand was holding the untaped hand.

Shepard’s gaze moved over to see Kaidan, asleep on the cot. Relief flooded Shepard. They were alive, both of them, and if he was in a hospital, it was probably safe. He didn’t hear the sounds of fighting beyond the room window…instead everything was just quiet except for the beeping of his monitors.

The nightshift nurse was walking by the room. She paused when she saw movement within the room and stepped inside. A quick smile quirked her lips as she stepped up to Alik’s bed and began the routine of checking his monitors and vitals. “Welcome back, Commander Shepard,” she said softly so as not to wake Kaidan. She glanced at the marine. “Ever since your ship got back to earth, he’s refused to leave your room unless he had to.”

“The war…the Reapers?” Alik asked in a rusty voice.

The nurse’s smile faltered only a moment. “The Reapers are gone, Commander Shepard. There were a great many dead and wounded, but we won’ the war…you won it.”

“How long?” Shepard asked, looking again at Kaidan’s hand clutching his own.

“Eight months,” the nurse replied sympathetically. She finished checking his vitals and nodded. “I must go and let the doctors know that you’re awake, but you two will have a few minutes before they descend upon you.”

Shepard smiled and squeezed Kaidan’s hand experimentally.

In his dreams, Kaidan felt Shepard’s hand firmly in his, heard Alik’s laughter, felt Alik squeezing his hand as they kissed. Then slowly he realized the sensation wasn’t just a dream and he awoke slowly, his deep brown eyes fluttering open to stare into the loving eyes of Alik Shepard.

“Shepard…Alik?” Kaidan whispered. He pulled himself into a sitting position on the cot, and then up, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed. “Alik?” he asked again, nervous.

“Still here, Kaidan,” Shepard promised. “I love you.”

And Alik Shepard would remember the blinding joy on Kaidan Alenko’s face for the rest of his life as his boyfriend leaned down to kiss him.

“Shepard…never do that again,” Kaidan sighed as he finally pulled back. He heard movement in the hall and knew they wouldn’t be alone much longer. He reluctantly sat on the cot when the doctors entered the room and ran a series of tests over Alik. It was almost two hours later before they were alone again, and the first rays of morning sun were spilling through the hospital room.

“A new dawn,” Alik mused as he smiled at Kaidan, holding the other man’s hand tightly.

“A new dawn,” Kaidan agreed. He took a deep breath and briefly took his hand from Shepard’s, rummaging around in his bag by the cot. A moment later he pressed a small black box into Shepard’s hand and knelt on the ground, staring at Alik as if Alik were the last man on earth.

Kaidan knew if he didn’t do this now, he didn’t know when he’d get the courage again, and this morning was too precious to lose anymore time with Shepard.

“Alik Shepard, will you marry me?” Kaidan asked, flipping the box open.

A simple black titanium band rested inside the box, with red words engraved into the band.

Alik’s fingers trembled as he took the ring from the box and read the inscription.

“Every Sunrise From Now On,” Alik read the words, and he smiled, letting it slide into his left ring finger. “As long as you have me, Kaidan Alenko, I will marry you.”

Kaidan smiled and stood to lean over the bed, pressing his lips against Alik’s.

The sun washed over the two of them in that perfect moment of bliss, and they knew they would be together for every sunrise, ever after.


End file.
